Pope delivers final mass as scandal erupts

Rappler.com

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

LAST SUNDAY MASS. Pope Benedict XVI in a file photo from Facebook

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates his last Sunday prayers in St Peter’s Square on February 24 ahead of his formal resignation on Thursday. With his voice breaking with emotion, the pope says God told him to devote himself to quiet contemplation but says this does not mean he would “abandon” the Church. He thanks the crowd with a final unscripted call, saying, “We will always be close!” In recent days, speculative reports of gay sex scandals in the Vatican dominated headlines in Italian news. The reports say three trusted Cardinals appointed by Benedict had put together an explicit report of Vatican officials who had been put in compromising positions and were vulnerable to blackmail by outsiders. Vatican experts say the explosion of bad press is fed by carefully orchestrated leaks meant to weaken some papal contenders. The Vatican Secretariat of State issued a rebuke Sunday, calling it “deplorable” that “unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories” were circulating ahead of the conclave. Analysts agree the reports highlighted the backbiting in the Vatican that Benedict was unable to control, and provided a hint as to why he is stepping aside for a younger, stronger leader. Benedict is the second pope to resign in the Church’s 2000-year history. 

Read more on Rappler, New York Times and CNN.

 




Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!